Aerial navigating apparatus.



J. BERNARD. AERIAL NAVIGATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION PiLED JUNE 30, 190B.

' Patented Jan. 26, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR QWAMM Af/or/1 1' J. BERNARD.

AERIAL NAVIGATING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 30,1908.

91 0,488. I Patented Jan. 26, 1909.

I 2 sums-sum z.

Alfomey JOHN BERNARD, F RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

AERIAL HAVIGATING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application am June so, 1908. Satin. No. 441,061.

Patented Jan. 26, 1909.

Toallwhomitmay camera:

it known that I, Jomv BERNARD, a cit zen of the .United States, residing at Rlchmond, in the county of Henrico and .5 State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aerial NavigatingApparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descri tion of the invention, such as will enab e others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accom ying drawings, and to the letters and es of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

invention relates to new and useful improvements in aerial navigating apparatus and comprises essentially a combination aerial lifting and propelling mechanism and- 2) parachute.

The invention comprises various details of construction, combinations and arrange ments of full descrr d and then specifically defined in appended claims. t My invgpation is illustrlpittlald in the accomanymg WlllgS in w c p Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a top plan view.

Reference'now being bad to the details of the drawings by letter, AA designate upright rods forming a portion-nftheframe of the a paratus and said rods may be made of bflaml ioo, metal or any other suitable materi B-B d ate the rods fo the skeleton fram j v i' k of the parhb lifil e C, said rods B being bent at an angle at B and ex- 40 tending diagonally to the ring I), thus forming secure br means for the latter. When the rods B are made of metal, theg are preferably bent to form the eyes 2 through which ropes are adapted to be passed for fast the canvas covering F to the rods B. In the event of bamboo or other light rods being substituted for the metallic rods B, eyes of any suitable material may be fastened thereto for the per use of receiving cords which may be passe therethrough and to which rods any suitable covering, such as paper or canvas, may be secured. The upper portions of the rods A are bowed outwardlfy, and H designates a sheet, preferably 0 metal, to the under arts which will be hereinafter A. The inner end of the shaft R has keyed concaved surface of which said bowed portions of the rods A are securely fastened. The lower edge of said metallic sheet-H has a concaved inwardly extending flange H- and its u per end is fastened to the upper ends of the rods A. The upper mar al edge of the canvas covering to said parac ute is fastened in any suitable manner to the upper marginal edge of said metallic sheet H. Suitable bearing members I are mounted upon spiders J, the ends of which are fastened to the upright rods A, and N designates a vertically disposed shaft which Is journaled in said bearmgs and to the upper end is fixed an aerial lift" wheel, designated by letter L, having t ilades of large area adapted to act as aeroplanes against the air as the wheel is rotated rapidly, the upper edges of the blades being'preferably sharpened in order to ofier as little resistance to the air as possible. Said wheel is of such a diameter as to substantially fill the opening in the top of the parachute, as shown clearly in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

A motor, designated by letter M, is supported by the frame of the apparatus having piston stems M connected to cranks of the shaft N and aifording means whereby the slilalft may btlaflroltated. Mounteg horizont y in suita e earings upon t e,u ugh t rods A is a shaft 0 having a propelling iivheei O fixed thereto, and O designates a friction disk fixed to-'the shaft 0 and adapted to be driven b a. friction wheel Q which is s lined to the sliaft N andis moved into erent positions by means of the bracket arm P, the lower end of which has ivotal link connection with anangle lever mounted u on the frame of the apparatus and to w 'ch angle lever an operating handle Q is 95 pivotally connected through the medium of a link Q.

i A steering wheel, designated by letter R and similar in construction to the lifting wheel L, is mounted upon a shaft R and has ke ed thereto a beveled gear wheel R in mes with the beveled pinion R which is keyed to the shaft R and which latter is journaled in suitable bearings upon the rods or otherwise fixed thereto a friction disk wheel R and R designatesa friction wheel which is splined to the shaft N. An an le lever S has one arm pivotally connected y means of the bracket arm S to the friction the upper bearing I in which the shaft N is j ournaled and is provided with radiating ribs which are fastened'to said collar. When the 'inner or auxiliary parachute is opened out,

its marginal edges will assume the positions shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of t e drawings, in which position the outer ends of the Ilb3 which are slightly concaved or upwardly curved will come in contact with the in wardly concaved end of the metallic sheet H, thus offering a secure resistance thereto.

In operation, when a rotary movement is imparted to lifting wheel L, a partial vacuum is formed above the Wheel, causing air to be drawn through the opening in the top of the parachute and driven laterally into the interior of the parachute F, causing the air to be compressed and retained therein, thereby making a more dense medium for the blades to work upon thus expediting the pulling force in the upward movement of the apparatus. As the wheel L is driven rapidly and the blades thereof being-0f considerable area, they will act as aeroplanes and their upper edges being sharpened will readily cut the air with little resistance. The tendency of the rapid rotary movement of the wheel L would be to cause the apparatus to rotatein the air as it ascends and, to overcome this, the wheel B being driven in a direction opposite to the natural tendency of the apparatus will have the effect to hold the latter from rotation as it rises in the air under the propulsive power of the driven wheel L. In order to hold the apparatus in its proper position for. making ascensions, the center of gravity of the apparatus should be in the lower part of the frame as it naturallywould be where the engine and o erator are located.

In the event of the mac inery stopping for any purpose while the apparatus is in the air and in order to assure a gradual descent of the machine, the inner or auxiliary parachute would automatically open and assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawin s, thus closing the opening in which the lifting wheel L is mounted, thus affording a large area of resistance to the air as the apparatus gently descends. In order toreini'orce and strengthen the upper portion of the sheeting H and to prevent obects being drawn through the'opening in the parachute incident to the pulling force of the wheel L as it rotates, I provide a metallic or other netting, designated by letter X, the marginal edge of which is fastened to the u per portion of the sheeting as shown clear y in the drawings.

While I have shown a particularform of lifting wheel, comprising aeroplane blades which rotate, if desired a positive blower may be substituted therefor.

What I claim to be new is:-

1. A combination aerial navigating apparatus and parachute, comprising a framework, a parachute having a central opening, a driving wheel positioned therein, an auxiliary arachute mounted u on the shaft of said w eel and having ribs, t e ends of which are concaved and adapted, when opened out, to engage under the marginal edge of said opening in the parachute, as set forth.

2. A combination aerial navigating apparatus and parachute, comprising a frame work, a parachute having a central opening, a driving wheel positioned therein, an auxiliary parachute mounted upon the shaft of said wheel and having ribs, the ends of which are concaved and ada ted, when opened out, to engage under t e marginal edge of said opening in the parachute, a flaring metallic Cplate about the margin of said opening an extending over the top of the parachute, as set forth.

3. A combination aerial navigating apparatus and parachute, comprising a framework, a parachute having a central opening, a driving wheel positioned therein, an auxiliary parachute mounted upon the shaft of said wheel and having ribs, the ends of which are concaved and ada ted, when opened out, to engage under t e marginal edge of said opening in the parachute, a flaring metallic plate about the margin of said opening and having an;inwardly extending flange, the outer portion of said plate extending over the to of the parachute, as shown and describe In testim'on whereof I hereunto affix my signature in t e presence of two witnesses.

JOHN BERNARD.

Witnesses:

FRANKLIN H. HOYT, A. L. HOUGH. 

